Chile has moved to strengthen the responsible use of agricultural biotechnology by introducing a draft resolution that formalizes the technical procedure for assessing plant materials developed with New Breeding Techniques (NBTs). The measure aims to increase legal certainty, reinforce oversight, and align the country with an international shift that views these tools as key to producing more sustainable, nutritious, and resilient food.
The Ministry of Agriculture, through the Agricultural and Livestock Service (SAG), presented a proposal to standardize and make transparent a procedure the agency has applied for more than eight years to evaluate plant materials produced with modern biotechnology. Its purpose is to clearly distinguish NBT-derived products — where precise changes replicate processes that can occur naturally, without adding genes from other species — from transgenic products, which do incorporate genetic material from another species and are already subject to specific regulations in Chile.
Mandatory and required before any field use, the case-by-case assessment determines whether a development should be treated as conventional or whether existing GMO regulations apply. This provides an official determination backed by regulation, strengthening environmental and phytosanitary safeguards as well as public confidence in these technologies, according to a press release.
The proposal was presented in a meeting with key agricultural stakeholders, including ChileBio, and fits within a broader strategy to bolster Chile’s capacity to produce food amid climate change, rising environmental requirements, and growing challenges related to food security and nutrition. SAG has also opened a 60-day public consultation, national and international in scope, with the goal of bringing the resolution into force by late May.
ChileBio described the initiative as a milestone for the governance of agricultural innovation. It emphasized that formalizing the procedure does not change existing GMO rules, but it does improve clarity and traceability and strengthens SAG’s authority to supervise and act on non-compliance within a system recognized internationally for its technical rigor.
Dr. Miguel Ángel Sánchez, executive director of Chilebio said that “the formalization of this science-based procedure, in force since 2017 and aligned with a global trend, will allow farmers to have access to better products, and will stimulate national innovation to achieve better food, strengthen food security and adapt to climate change. The use of these tools allows to considerably reduce the time and costs to obtain plant varieties adapted to different challenges and in this context biotechnology has become a key tool for sustainability and bringing concrete benefits for farmers; especially small ones, consumers and the environment. It is also important to highlight the role of the SAG, internationally recognized for its technical rigor, which guarantees the safety and safety of these developments for the benefit of the country.”
In a global context where biotechnology has become a central tool for addressing climate change, boosting productivity, and developing foods with improved nutritional profiles, clear, science-based regulatory frameworks are essential to ensure that innovation reaches farmers and consumers effectively while also delivering environmental benefits.
You can access the public consultation of the resolution that “Establishes technical and administrative requirements to determine regulations applicable to plant propagation material developed by new improvement techniques (NBT)” at the following link: https://www.sag.gob.cl/quienes-somos/consultas-publicas
